(Warner Bros. Pictures)
In 1933, when the first and best King Kong was released, it was a time of nascent skyscrapers that made man feel smaller than he ever had. After living for decades among concrete monsters, are we still afraid of things that are bigger than us?
With an ad campaign that apes Apocalypse Now, an homage to Dr. Strangelove, and a diverse cast, the blockbuster adventure Kong: Skull Island has higher aspirations. Although its script is uninspired, the movie satisfies a basic cinematic need: the need to watch big monsters fight each other—a lot!
The set-up comes from ancient grade-Z movies like Unknown Island. The year is 1973. An adventurer with the apt name of James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) leads an expedition to an uncharted island deep in the South Pacific. Fresh from a stint in Vietnam Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) is in charge of transporting a group that includes soldiers, scientists, and war photographer Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), who’s rocking a Leica M3 for this dangerous assignment.
Little does this crack team know that something really big is out there—and he’s not alone.
John C. Reilly provides some comic relief as Hank Marlow, a WWII pilot who has been stranded on the island for nearly 30 years. Like each of the main players, he has his own take on the ruling beast; to Packard, Kong is an enemy that gives him a chance to fulfill tensions left unresolved in Vietnam; to Weaver, Kong is great subject matter; to Conrad, Kong is something to fear; to Marlow, Kong provides protection, but is not to be messed with.
Is Kong an allegory about various approaches to government? Maybe. More importantly, Kong is big, and he battles fugly beasts even bigger than he is.
Nobody will remember Kong: Skull Island at Oscar time, but it has at least one thing up on prestige arthouse fare like 20th Century Women: it gets its vinyl details right. While Mike Mills’ fine coming-of-age drama gets at least two discographical details wrong, the producers of Kong are right on the nose with its glimpse of a butterfly-era Elektra record label, which turns out to be: “Down on the Street,” from The Stooges’ 1971 classic Fun House. Does this promise a 50-foot radioactive Iggy Pop for a Kong sequel? I hope so!
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Kong: Skull Island
Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly
With Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson
Rated PG-13 for strong language and graphic footage of tiny humans decimated by CGI behemoths.
Opens today at a multiplex near you.
